SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been a great year for the University Red Devils, but they soared to new heights on Friday, blasting rival Lick-Wilmerding in a 77-43 win.
After facing an early eight-point deficit, NCS No. 6 University (20-1, 4-0 BCL West) led by 20 during the second quarter and by 30 in the third. The Red Devils finished with four starters in double-figures, and the numbers could’ve ballooned had head coach Randy Bessolo not tapped into his bench in the fourth quarter.
Spencer Spivy continued to show his brilliance for the Red Devils, scoring 18 points and finishing one rebound shy of a double-double. The 6’4 senior also had seven assists and four steals. Max Fried did pick up the double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Julian Manyika hit five 3-pointers and tied for high-scoring honors with 18 points, and Charley Moore finished with 14.
“They’ve got some great players,” said Bessolo, “But we’ve got a lot of really good players. Seeing how the game was going, we wanted to get more guys involved. We wanted to make it a higher-possession game.”
No. 15 Lick-Wilmerding (18-3, 2-2) got 14 points apiece from Allen Wilson and Walter Lum. Despite the lopsided score, head coach Eliot Smith was his usual upbeat self following the game, full of praise for his rivals.
“They have great leadership in Spencer,” said Smith. “They did a really nice job putting pressure on Walter, and they forced us to do things we didn’t want to do.”
The teams will meet at noon on Monday, February 12 for their annual matchup at Oracle Arena. The game is something of a holiday for both schools, with afternoon classes canceled and students transported to the game by bus.
